Identifies some issues emerging from Barnet College's involvement in the United Kingdom's National Pilot appraisal Scheme for Further Education. Explores varying perceptions of both appraisers and appraisees, focusing on individual staff member and special interest group reactions. Only 14 percent of staff surveyed felt that the process was…

Discusses the relationship between reflection and action and its importance in teaching when time for reflection before decision making is rarely available. Describes anticipatory reflection, active or interactive reflection, recollective reflection, and mindfulness or tact. Emphasizes the importance of tact to teaching as the teacher develops…

Explores how ninth- and eleventh-grade students reformulated their initial written analyses of two short stories through revisions fostered by between-draft written comments. Indicates significant effects for response condition and grade level. Analyzes data collected in two response modes: directive and dialogue. (HB)

Inspired by observation of a teacher-designed management studies program at an Irish secondary school, this paper demonstrates that whole school improvement is possible only after staff have acquired proficiency in the disciplines required of learning organizations. Free of externally imposed syllabi, teachers were forced to rethink, relearn, and…

Traditionally, composition teachers have offered instruction at only two points: before the writing (through lessons in grammar and style) and after the writing (through error correction and evaluation). The most important part of the learning process comes during the writing activity, when students are struggling with ideas and issues like form,…

Shares students' reactions to written responses from teachers. (MG)

Many school districts are offering warranties on their high school graduates' basic academic abilities; employers identifying academic skill deficiencies may return graduates to school for free retraining. The problem is how to handle "recalls" appropriately. Community benefits and criticisms of the warranty approach are discussed. A sidebar…

Addresses the difficulty of teaching historical perspective to students. Suggests that teachers can teach historical concepts better by trying to understand how to use indefinite time expressions. Presents results of a study focusing on teacher perceptions of student responses to indefinite time expressions. Discusses the building of time lines to…

Fifty-six teachers of students with moderate/profound disabilities viewed task analytic data in one of three forms: graphed, ungraphed, or both. The data's form did not produce different teacher judgments of student progress or different program recommendations. Three factors (trend, variability, and frequency of data collection) had significant…

Describes events surrounding grievances filed against a curriculum coordinator in a New Jersey school district from 1987 to 1989. Although most grievances were found in the supervisor's favor, teachers succeeded in questioning some practices and limiting others. Disentangling the supervision-evaluation knot is impossible; because supervision is…

Describes how a third-grade teacher worked with a child in her class who had attention deficit disorder. The child was easily distracted and frustrated and had low self-esteem. The teacher's sensitivity to his ups and downs and her flexibility in modifying lessons helped the child succeed. (SM)

Examines students' responses and comments on facilitative (helping the student rethink a paper analytically) versus directive commentary (teacher suggestions made in an authoritative manner). Argues that directive commentary has several legitimate uses and that its judicious use can coax students into writing stronger text. (SR)

Confronting low student performance, staff at a central California elementary school tackled curriculum-alignment problems; identified available instructional, support, information, and human-resource processes; and dealt with the language issue. The school's "Student Portfolio and Assessment System" helped teachers discover feasible…

Describes the Ethics Challenge Game (developed by Lockheed Martin Corp. and free to educators), which is a board game based on the Dilbert comic strip character that provides realistic scenarios for discussion of ethical behavior in various business/workplace situations. Describes the game, offers comments on faculty reactions after playing the…

Focuses on the importance of more closely understanding the ways in which faculty foster and perpetuate classroom authority, and ways in which learners become entangled in unconscious transference. Uses a psychoanalytic model to discuss the implications of traditional classroom power relationships between teachers and students. Suggests strong…